Field
The present specification generally relates to laminated glass articles and, more specifically, to methods for strengthening the edge of laminated glass articles and laminated glass articles formed therefrom.
Technical Background
Glass articles, such as cover glasses, glass backplanes and the like, are employed in both consumer and commercial electronic devices such as LCD and LED displays, computer monitors, automated teller machines (ATMs) and the like. Some of these glass articles may include “touch” functionality which necessitates that the glass article be contacted by various objects including a user's fingers and/or stylus devices and, as such, the glass must be sufficiently robust to endure regular contact without damage. Moreover, such glass articles may also be incorporated in portable electronic devices, such as mobile telephones, personal media players, and tablet computers. The glass articles incorporated in these devices may be susceptible to damage during transport and/or use of the associated device. Accordingly, glass articles used in electronic devices may require enhanced strength to be able to withstand not only routine “touch” contact from actual use, but also incidental contact and impacts which may occur when the device is being transported.
Strengthened glass articles may be formed from processes such as chemical tempering, thermal tempering, and lamination. A glass article strengthened by lamination is formed from at least two glass compositions which have different coefficients of thermal expansion. These glass compositions are brought into contact with one another in a molten state to form the glass article and fuse or laminate the glass compositions together. As the glass compositions cool, the difference in the coefficients of thermal expansion cause compressive stresses to develop in at least one of the layers of glass, thereby strengthening the glass article. Lamination processes can also be used to impart or enhance other properties of laminated glass articles, including physical, optical, and chemical properties
Various processes may be utilized to produce laminated glass articles, including the fusion lamination process which yields a continuous ribbon of laminated glass. Discrete laminated glass articles may be singulated from the continuous ribbon of laminated glass for incorporation in other devices. However, after singulation, the central core layer of the glass article is exposed at the edge of the laminated glass article. The exposed core layer, which may be under tension, may make the laminated glass article susceptible to failure from damage incident on the edge of the laminated glass article.
Accordingly, a need exists for alternative methods for strengthening the edge of laminated glass articles and laminated glass articles formed therefrom.